Passover Wine Sale

Many clubs plan a wine sale as a fundraiser for Passover. The following is an outline of steps to consider in planning, publicizing, and executing a wine sale:

Planning

Designate a chair and form a committee. One person should not be expected to do everything.

Laws for the sale of wine vary in each state. Is the sale of wine by the Men’s Club legal in your state? Is a permit needed? Can you sell wine year-round if you so choose? Can other than wine be sold?

Consider collaborating with nearby clubs. With increased volume of sales, you may be able to increase the income.

Approach nearby liquor stores to find out from whom you can best obtain wine at a reasonable cost and still make a good profit of at least 10% to 30%.

Will wine for a wine tasting be provided or will this be at additional cost?

Will there be a discount for individual customer orders of a case or more?

Is there a minimum order? For example, if you order direct from a distributor, you might need to order full or half cases.

Other options may be to order direct from a distributor, or from a caterer.

Work backwards with your timeline target to plan what needs to be done by when.

Decide who will tabulate orders.

What types of Kosher wine will be sold? You will find some Kosher wine reviews here: Four Cups #1.

Make sure the entire planning process has begun early enough to allow publicity to be done on time. If you do not get out the word that you are selling wine, you will not receive orders.

Publicity

Design an attractive order form.

Should distribution of order forms be included with the congregation Purim Mishloach Manot distribution?

If your synagogue publishes a monthly bulletin, it is best for the order form to be in two consecutive issues before orders are due.

If using email, will the order form be legible?

If the order form is posted online, how will people be directed to it?

You may need to use different file formats. For example, a) you might design the order form using Word or Excel, b) but then convert this to a pdf for posting on a website and/or to be submitted for a written bulletin, and c) a jpg or similar image file might be best for emails or as a picture on a website.

If feasible, would you consider orders to be taken online?

Execution

Do you have space reserved in your synagogue for checking the order, storing, sorting and distributing the wine?

It is best to have a team to check the order, sort and distribute the wine.

Will you be offering to deliver orders, or at least orders or a case or more? If so, publicize this as an option in advance.

Do you have a procedures in place for the distribution?

It is best to have a few extra bottles of wine available to correct errors, or to sell when orders are being picked up.

You might find the above generic stages of Planning – Publicity – Execution helpful for planning out other Men’s Club programs.